1080 plan draws condemnation

BY SHANE COWLISHAW

A proposal to drop 1080 poison bait into the Waitutu Forest has drawn condemnation from several individuals and groups, including the fishing industry and deerstalkers association.

The Department of Conservation has lodged a resource consent application with Environment Southland to drop cereal bait over 25,000 hectares of forest.

Fifty-eight submissions have been received on the consent, with 50 opposed, four in support and four neutral.

Many submittors said the aerial use of 1080 was a blight on New Zealand's clean, green image.

Alternative pest control such as ground baiting with poisons such as Feratox was suggested.

But department murihiku area manager Dave Taylor said the pest control had been made possible by a $500,000 grant from the Government's National Heritage Fund, which stipulated an air-control operation.

A comparison with ground control had been done and revealed an extra $300,000 cost and a lower coverage area of 16,000ha, he said.

The effect on water quality was also raised in submissions.

CRA8 chief executive Malcolm Lawson said it was inevitable the poison would enter the marine area and could affect the export of rock lobster from the fishery.

PauaMac5 chairman Storm Stanley was also concerned, stating there was no body of scientific work available on the possible effects of 1080 on shellfish.

New Zealand Deerstalkers Association South Island vice-president Harvie Morrow said he was worried there would be no water testing by the department.

The association asked for assurances that all sampling and testing be carried out by an independent organisation.

But the department had support from two environmental groups – Forest and Bird Southland and the Southland Conservation Board.

Forest and Bird said the Waitutu Forest was deteriorating because of pests. Fewer possums would also mean better carbon sequestration in the forest, it says.

The conservation board agreed to give its support at a meeting last month, deciding an aerial drop was the most effective form of pest control in the area.

Environment Southland chairman Stuart Collie said a decision on the consent would be based on facts and science, not numbers.

"All submittors have an influence on the outcome but you have to be aware of the fact that numbers themselves don't mean anything," he said.The hearing will begin November 30.

- © Fairfax NZ News